A court in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, shortly after 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning local time issued a verdict holding Telenor liable for USD 2,824,125,677 in damages, plus RUR 460,000 in costs, for allegedly having delayed VimpelCom's acquisition of Ukrainian Radio Systems, a small Ukrainian mobile operator. Telenor strongly believes the claimant Farimex is affiliated with the Alfa Group and that the case has no merit. Telenor is confident it will prevail in reversing the decision on appeal. The lawsuit, which was filed by Farimex Products, Inc. claims that Telenor delayed VimpelCom's USD230 million acquisition of Ukrainian mobile operator URS WellCom by nearly one year. Farimex, which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, lists as its sole director, Dmitry Fridman, a cousin of Alfa Group Chairman Mikhail Fridman. In a Geneva arbitration claim filed in March 2008, Alfa Group subsidiary Eco Telecom made a claim against Telenor that is nearly identical to the claim made by Farimex in Khanty-Mansiysk. Telenor filed a lawsuit in US federal court in New York in June 2008 in an effort to force Farimex to arbitrate its claim in Geneva. For more in-depth information regarding this issue, head over to this Telenor website...